


Wake Up

by Blue_Five



Series: Teen Wolf at the Movies [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Teen Wolf AU: Avatar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-01-21 20:30:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1563077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Five/pseuds/Blue_Five
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avatar AU - Stiles Stilinski went to Pandora because he had nowhere else to go.  He never dreamed he'd want to stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Pandora

Stiles Stilinski watched the body of his father ... his last remaining family ... enter the flames at the mortuary. He was a sheriff in their small hometown of Beacon Hills. And now he was gone because some drug-addled punk decided he needed to prove himself. Stiles wiped the tears from his eyes and sighed. He was alone.

He looked over at the suits standing quietly regarding him. Men from the Company ... men looking for someone who needed what they could offer and had no reason to stay on Earth any longer. His best friend Scott stood with them. Stiles sighed. No more reason to put this off.

“Gentleman, I guess that's that.”

* * *

Stiles hated looking at the camera and seeing himself looking back on the monitor. Keeping a log of everything he did every day was going to get very boring very quickly, Stiles figured. He stretched his arms and groaned. Pushing back from the table, he rubbed his hands along his thighs. He felt absolutely nothing thanks to a stray round that initially missed him but then fragmented when it hit the ground and tore through his body leaving him useless from the waist down. Pressing the playback button, he listened to his voice explaining everything that had happened to him over the past few years.

* * *

_When I was lying there in the VA hospital with a big hole blown right through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams about flying. I was free. I could sail over the tops of the trees and nothing could stop me._

_Sooner or later, though ... you always have to wake up. Now, in cryo you don't dream at all. Trip out here? Didn't feel like six years, that's for damn sure. More like a fifth of tequila and an ass-kicking. Something I am very familiar with._

_I went into the Marines to see something other than my own back yard. I wanted to make a difference or something ... hell, I don't know anymore. I left Beacon Hills, my dad and my best friend Scott to fight battles for people I didn't know and who didn't know me. I know nobody thought I'd make it ... scrawny kid that I was at the time. I was a little bit in doubt myself but once I got there ... it just felt right. Warriors ... that's what we got called sometimes. And I guess we were in a way ... all I know is I loved it with everything I had. I might not have been a master strategist, but I knew how to follow orders and I knew how to fight. It was the Corps and it was home for a lotta years._

_Scott McCall, my best bud ... he was the one who became a scientist and wanted to get shot out light years into space and find the answers. I was back home by then, trying to pull the pieces of life and limb back together. A week before Scott goes out, my dad gets killed. Nothing to be done ... very sad ... all the bullshit you hear from local, state and national governments all over the world. Whatever._

_Scott, bless his little dark and twisted heart, offered me a job. A way out. Go to Pandora with him. See a new world. Join the AVTR program. I figured why the hell not? Just another dumb grunt goin' somewhere he's gonna regret._

_I grew up hearing about Pandora ... never thought I'd go there. Sitting in the transport, listening to basic safety 101, I began to wonder again why I was there. The flight commander warned us that without our oxy masks we'd be unconscious in 20 seconds and dead in 4 minutes. Awesome._

_The only reason I'm on Pandora is my spine. The Company can fix a spine if you've got money. Which I don't. Not by a long shot. But this gig ... it pays well. Real well. And maybe if I do this then I'll walk again some day._

_The colonel ... Deucalion “Duke” ... that greeted us was definitely old school. White hair, some sort of claw marks going across one side of his head ... made me wonder what the other guy looked like but he didn't beat around the bush. I recorded his little speech._

“ _You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a Hell, you might wanna go there for some R &R after a tour on Pandora. Out there, beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes. There is an indigenous population of humanoids call the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin that'll stop your heart in one minute and they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fiber. They are very hard to kill. As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed. Not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude. You have to obey the rules. Pandora rules.”_

_Yeah ... gotta love safety briefs. I saw some of those arrows coming across the tarmac embedded in the tires of the dump trucks carrying unobtanium that they mine out here. Made me think about the native cultures trashed back home. Oh well._

_Me and my buddy Scott are gonna be going out in these remotely controlled bodies called avatars. They're grown from human DNA mixed with the DNA of the natives. Scott's call to me came when the original candidate for e program died in a car wreck or something . They were able to use my DNA to begin the process on the avatar. Lucky timing, I guess. They matured on the flight out ... so six years to grow and I've got this fully adult body waiting for me. Gotta admit, staring at this blue-skinned giant floating in a tub of ... whatever ... makes me doubt my own sanity again. Still ... this thing has fully functioning legs. That's gotta count for something until I can get my own fixed. Scott says we can go out in them tomorrow. Guess I'll find out how good a driver I am._

_Met the head of the department ... Lydia Martin . Scott thinks she fucking hung the moon. I think she's a red-headed bitch. She pretty much thinks I'm a military goon and a moron. I'm not real sure that anyone other than Scott thinks much different. Awesome, huh?_

* * *

Stiles rolled his chair to his link bed. Filled with a gel mattress and a wire grid that would link his brain to the avatar's, it was like an odd, blinking coffin. Scott's was right beside his.

“How many link hours have you logged?” Lydia asked him.

“Zip,” Stiles replied. “But I read a manual.”

“Tell me you're joking,” Lydia said in disbelief. “So, what, Marine? You just figured you'd come out here to the most hostile environment known to man with no training of any kind, and ... see how it went? What was going through your head?”

Stiles smiled. “Probably that I was tired of doctor's telling me what I couldn't do.”

Lydia gave him a dark look. She helped him lie back into the form-fitting gel mattress and lowered the neural grid over him. Stiles fidgeted, trying to see everything all at once.

“This is cool,” Stiles muttered.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Just relax and let your mind go blank. That shouldn't be too hard for you.”

Stiles flipped her off even though the fact that he couldn't lift his hand made the gesture weak. He was tired of people thinking him too weak or too dumb to function in polite society. He was a Marine, not a pet rock. He had a brain. You didn't survive some of the fights he'd seen if you didn't have some sort of rudimentary intelligence. He thanked God for Scott who knew there was more to Stiles Stilinski than just a pretty face. He grinned and lay back. Time to get this show on the road. He let his eyes close and his body go limp. He didn't know what to expect, but what happened wasn't it.

Stiles felt like he was traveling along a brightly lit tunnel ... colors zipped by, blurring and blending until they became one massive white light. And then, silence.

* * *

Shapes came into focus slowly, going from blurry blobs of light to blurry blobs of color and then gradually they were resolved into objects he could recognize. Lights, people wearing face masks ... he could see.

Stiles blinked. He heard a snapping sound just behind his ear and felt an unfamiliar twitch. Of course ... the Na'vi had flexible and moveable pinnae like a cat. He grinned. This was getting better by the minute

“Welcome to your new body, Stiles,” the nurse said with a smile.

Stiles lifted his hands and stared at them. Covered in blue skin, they otherwise looked like his own real hands. Well, the blueness and the fact that they were also a bit larger than his own human hands. He flexed and curled his fingers much to the delight of the doctors. He sat up slowly and stared again. Two long, muscular legs stuck out from under the hospital gown he wore. Stiles swallowed and then he flexed his toes. The sensation was almost orgasmic after so long without feeling. He gave a quick bark of a laugh and the avatar next to him ... Scott ... glanced over with a broad grin.

“Great, huh, buddy?”

“Scotty ... oh man ... oh this is ... oh this is _awesome_ ,” Stiles said reverently, swinging his legs to the floor.

The techs overseeing him became a little alarmed. He was moving too quickly. It was too soon to be trying to drive. But Stiles wanted to stand. They couldn't understand ... couldn't know how it felt to be without legs. How beautiful and awesome this was. Stiles pushed himself upright and that was when things got a little crazy.

* * *

The Na'vi body reacted like a newborn colt's. Stiles wasn't used to the new body weight and center of gravity. He wobbled back and forth trying to find his balance. Scott groaned.

“Stiles! Aww come on, man ... you've gotta settle ...”

Scott ducked when Stiles spotted his tail and wiped out an entire counter of equipment flipping around to look at it. He stumbled against the window looking back into the lab. Scott's lab partner, a cute lady named Kira, looked back at him with a little annoyance.

“Stiles, settle down. You're not used to your body, this is dangerous.”

Stiles shook his head. “No ... this is incredible.”

Turning, Stiles headed for the airlock door leading out onto the surface of Pandora. Scott quickly disconnected himself from his own leads and headed out after his friend. He barely had the heart to be upset at the man ... after all, how did they think he'd react when given the ability to walk again? It was like being able to see after being blind – the human need to experience it all ... to fully appreciate the miracle was surging through Stiles. Scott just hoped he didn't break anything. Mostly the avatar.

Stiles ran. For the first time in years, he could run again. He could feel the muscles in his new legs stretch and pump to move him forward. It was a little unsteady at first but then he began to pick up speed. He whooped. The feel of the wind zipping through his hair ... his body feeling like it was going to burst with all the energy ... the ground, soft and hard beneath his new feet ... Stiles was in heaven. He ran until he came to a field of plants he couldn't immediately identify. He skidded to a halt and inhaled deeply. The air was different than what he was used to ... warm and humid. A strange sweetness traveled the breeze but it wasn't unpleasant. It reminded him of jasmine and it just seemed to fit. Stiles laughed.

“Hey, Marine!”

Stiles looked up and startled. “Lydia?”

“Well, who did you expect, numb nuts?” The red-head was in her Na'vi avatar wearing a Stanford half-shirt and a close fitting pair of shorts. He thought she looked like a blue Laura Croft and the effect was not a bad one. “Think fast.”

Stiles caught the piece of fruit that she tossed to him. “Good motor reflexes.”

Stiles bit down into the fruit and blinked in happy surprise that he could smell and taste everything. Juice ran down his chin as he made a sound of enjoyment. It was like the best, juiciest orange and strawberry on the planet. “Oh man!”

Lydia smiled back and Stiles was surprised to find it made her quite pretty.

The rest of the day was spent moving into the outdoor barracks for the avatars. Stiles, Scott and several other participants settled down to sleep on cots within a carefully guarded and locked building. Stiles sat on his cot as they waited for lock-down examining the end of his hair queue. A twisting jumble of tendrils twisted and flared there. Lydia, walking by, murmured.

“Don't play with that, you'll go blind.”

Stiles chuckled. It was a little creepy but he knew it was an integral part of Na'vi physiology and interaction. Although, how or why escaped him.

Lying back once lights were out, Stiles listened to the sounds of the planet around him. He reflected about his life and how he'd managed to be on this strange world doing something he never dreamed he'd do again. Walk. Run. Jump. He closed his eyes to the sound of some unknown creature screeching into the night and when he opened them, Stiles was back in his old body. His broken, useless body. He decided this was one time he really didn't want to wake up.


	2. Run If You Want To Live

Stiles pushed himself along beside an attractive brunette. She walked with purpose and explained herself as she did so.

“My name is Allison. I fly all the science sorties,” she said, fondly patting her airship. “This is my baby.” She did a quick look over the machine. “Get it done, guys ... we bounce at 0930.”

Stiles studied the ship and his eyes widened at the weaponry he saw being loaded and prepped. “You guys are packin' some heavy gear,” he noted.

“That's because we're not the only thing flying up there ... or the biggest,” Allison said with a grin. “I'm gonna need you on a door gun. I'm a man short.”

Stiles' face broke into a wide grin. “Oh I thought you'd _never_ ask!”

Allison chuckled. She led him to a caged off area on the hangar and pointed. “There's your man ... see you on the flight.”

Stiles nodded as they fist-bumped. He rolled over to the cage. Deucalion was working out, pumping a fairly impressive amount of weight. Stiles cleared his throat.

“You wanted to see me, colonel?”

Duke continued to pump while he talked. “This low gravity will make you soft. You get soft ... Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning,” Duke finished, putting the weights back on their stand.

Stiles said nothing. He'd dealt with men like the colonel before ... more often than not, their bravado was earned through blood and tears. The scars on the man's head were sign enough of that.

“I pulled your record, corporal,” Duke said. “Venezuela ... that was some mean bush. Nothing like this here, though.” Duke looked at Stiles' legs and then met his eyes again. “You got some heart, kid, showing up in this neighborhood.”

Stiles shrugged. “Figured it was just another hellhole, sir.”

Duke chuckled. “I was First Recon myself. A few years ahead of you ... well, perhaps more than a few. I did three tours in Nigeria and not a single scratch. I come here and --” Duke indicated his scars. “Day _one_. Don't you know I felt green? Of course, if I rotated back, they could fix me up and make me pretty again ... but I rather like it. Reminds me every day what's waiting for me out there.” Duke climbed into his AMP suit ... a sort of mobile exo-skeleton that allowed soldiers to walk and fight with things several times their own size. Stiles rolled onto the lift beside it and raised up to keep level with the colonel. “The avatar program is a joke. Nothing but a bunch of limp-dick science majors.” Duke settled himself in the suit's cockpit. “However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique. A recon gyrene in an avatar body ... my, what a potent mix that is! I had goosebumps at the thought! Such a Marine could provide the intel right on the ground ... right in the hostile's camp. Look, Stilinski ... I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust – tell me how to force their cooperation or how to hammer them hard if they refuse.”

Stiles couldn't believe his ears ... he thought he'd be a joke here. An oddity not good for much. The colonel was offering him a chance to be a Marine again ... to matter. He considered.

“Am I still with Martin?”

“On paper,” Duke replied. “You walk like one of her little science ducks ... you quack like one but you report to me. Can you do that for me son?”

Stiles swallowed the laugh that threatened to bubble up. Now was not the time. He nodded. “Hell, yeah, sir.”

“Well, alright then,” Duke said with a smile. He walked the suit out of its space and then glanced over at Stiles. “I take care of my own, Stilinski. You do this for me and I'll see to it that you get your legs back when you rotate home.” Duke pointed at Stiles' limbs. “Your _real_ legs.”

Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat. “That sounds real good, sir.”

* * *

Later, as he sank into the link, Stiles heard Lydia's voice saying, “Just keep your mouth shut and let Scott do the talking, alright?”

Stiles smirked. _Whatever, lady. You and my buddy Scott can nerd it up all you want. I'm gettin' this done and then I'm goin' home. Wonder what these blue-skinned natives are gonna be like?_

* * *

Stiles leapt off the air ship easily in his avatar body. He loved it. Being able to move freely in this powerful frame, holding a ginormous gun made especially for the larger Na'vi bodies ... hell yeah, he was in heaven. He just wished that Lydia would quit treating him like he was the world's thickest rock.

Deploying into the brush, Stiles led the group with his gun held at the ready. He stared in disbelief at all the colors, the sounds ... the myriad different lifeforms surrounding him. He'd never been on an entirely new _world_ before. New countries, sure, but this ... it was like walking on Earth right after Creation. Nothing was familiar and yet somehow ... everything was. He startled as the upper branches erupted with strange primate-like figures. They were like a strange mix between monkeys and flying squirrels. One of them grabbed a fruit within easy reach and noticed Stiles. The two oddities stared at each other for a moment.

Stiles felt Lydia pushing his gun muzzle down and he frowned at her. “Prolemurs. They aren't aggressive.”

When Stiles stubbornly raised his gun again, Lydia rolled her eyes and stalked off into the brush. “ _Relax_ , Marine. You're making me nervous.”

“So how will they know we're here?” Scott asked.

Lydia smiled. “I'm sure they're watching us right now.”

Scott's head snapped up, ears moving a mile a minute. Stiles chuckled. “Keep moving Scotty ... gotta keep up with red.”

Scott jogged to catch up to Lydia and Stiles sighed. This was going to be a long and, from the looks of it, a very boring day.

* * *

Of course, an hour later that opinion had not changed one whit. Lydia was showing Scott how to take samples from the extensive plant root system leaving Stiles to amuse himself. He looked around, not seeing or hearing anything that looked like it might eat them. Wandering away a bit with a glance back now and then to assure himself all was well, Stiles stepped into a field of brightly colored spiral ferns. He looked at the rich coloring. It was amazing. Did they have colors like this back on Earth? He figured if they did, Stiles had never seen it. Of course, most of his life was o.d. green so what did he know?

Reaching out, Stiles brushed the delicate edge of one of the ferns with a fingertip. It promptly vanished into its tube-like base. Stiles blinked, wide-eyed. He looked over and saw Lydia and Scott head to head so he decided to keep exploring his new found amusement. Venturing another finger out, he touched a different plant. It, too, vanished with a hollow-sounding _pop!_ Stiles grinned and walked over to touch another one. This one vanished, but then all the surrounding plants began to retract as well. Stiles grimaced. _Damn ... did I break all of them?_

As the last plant pulled itself down, Stiles stared at a beast that looked like a hammerhead shark that had decided to pretend it was a rhino with a headdress. Stiles fell back as the beast trumpeted and stomped massive feet. He immediately raised his rifle and drew a bead on the animal's forehead.

Lydia's voice echoed on his comm. “Don't shoot! Are you listening to me, Marine? Do _not_ shoot ... you'll piss him off!”

Stiles huffed an exasperated laugh at that. The beast was crashing its headgear into nearby trees, splintering them. “Um, I think he's _already_ pissed, doc!”

“That armor is too thick, Stiles, trust me. It's a territorial threat display. Do _not_ run or he'll charge!” Scott offered.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “What am I supposed to do with it? Dance??”

“Just ... hold your ground,” Lydia suggested.

Stiles blinked. _I am going to die on my first day in the Pandoran jungle. Just my fucking luck._

The beast kicked up dust ... and then charged. Stiles drew a quick breath and flashed his teeth in a snarl. Then he ran right at the thing, waving his arms and yelling at the top of his lungs.

It worked.

Stiles didn't know whether to laugh, cry or scream hysterically at the sky. The rhino-beast skidding to a halt, confused by the smaller creature now running toward it. It was used to things smaller than it running away. It flattened its crest against the broad armored head and took a few steps back.

“Yeah! That's right! Who's bad? Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about bitch!” Stiles catcalled to the rhino. He laughed as the beast turned tail and ran back to what was apparently the herd. He continued his trash talk, grinning from ear to ear. He'd have fun telling Duke about this one. Then he smelled it. A harsh smell ... like a cat's breath. Only the reason cats had that breath was because their diet was mostly protein. Then he heard the deep growling breath.

 _Oh shit_.

Turning slowly around, Stiles saw the Thanator. It was a large six-limbed cross between a wolf and a jaguar. It was enormous and it was looking at Stiles like he was an hors d'oeuvre. Leaping over his head, the creature advanced on the other animals. The titanotheres stomped and displayed their fans in nervous irritation. The thanator snarled at them but knew well enough that an entire herd was impossible to bring down. Turning, the beast looked at the smaller prey.

Stiles had a very uncomfortable feeling that he'd just gone from top dog to a soon to be snack. He held his weapon up and yelped at Lydia.

“What about this one? Run? Don't run? What?”

Lydia and Scott were slowly backing away as she yelled, “Run! Definitely _run!”_

* * *

Stiles prided himself on his survival instincts. They'd served him well in nearly every tour of action he'd seen. He did not waste time but instead pivoted on his heel and took off. As he ran, Stiles felt the new body he inhabited. Muscles, sinew, bones, all moved in a graceful dance to propel him through the forest undergrowth. Eyes possessed of sharper vision than anything he'd ever known showed him a dense root ball at the base of one of the immense trees. Stiles raced through a grove of bamboo-like planets, dodging back and forth to avoid the claws behind him. He found himself wishing he wasn't wearing his boots for some reason. He felt as if he could _feel_ the earth beneath him, he might run faster, better. Survival instinct overwhelmed Stiles' natural curiosity. He saw the roots before him and dove for it, hoping the thanator couldn't follow him in the smaller openings.

For a moment, Stiles felt successful. The thanator's claws couldn't reach him. But then the beast used its incredible strength to begin snapping the layers of his cage hiding place. Stiles groaned. His life. How was this his life ... dying at the claws of some beast he'd never seen before today? Angry, Stiles opened fire on the thing. Bullets sprayed the jungle as the thanator dodged right and left to avoid his fire. What ammo hit its mark did little damage to the thick hided creature. Instead, it waited for a pause in his firing and grabbed the gun in its mouth. With a roar, it tore it from his hands and tossed it into the forest.

 _Oh perfect_ , Stiles thought as he scrambled out of the roots.

Stiles knew he had to find shelter and fast. His body was incredible, but even it couldn't keep up this pace for long. He needed to find a place he could hide or defend. He heard something behind him and turned to see a sight that chilled him straight to the bone – the thanator had launched itself from a perch above him ... the two powerful hind legs were extended back as they shot the creature forward. The four front limbs were all extended as if to pull Stiles into a gentle bear hug – one he would never emerge from.

“Oh shiiiiiiit!” Stiles screamed as he put on an extra burst of speed.

The thanator's weight took him down hard and before he could pull himself away, it locked jaws on Stiles' backpack. Using that, the thanator shook Stiles' body viciously. He barely had the presence of mind to undo the harness to release himself.

The thanator continued to worry at the backpack while Stiles ran for all he was worth. Gone was anything resembling planning ... he was running on total and absolute instinct now. His body was forcing him forward and away from certain death.

Stiles did pause a minute mentally when he found himself flying out into open air over a waterfall.

 _ How is this my life _?

* * *

Half-drowned and still not completely sure how he lived, Stiles crouched and continued sharpening his make-shift spear. He had to work his way back toward the landing area. Somehow, he had to survive the night on a world where everything wanted to make a meal of him. Stiles stood and took his bearings before walking off into the forest of Pandora.

* * *

The warrior lay pressed against the tree branch, watching. He'd heard the noise of the sky people's ships and gone to investigate. He'd been amused to watch the small group of false ones confront the thunderhooves. He'd recognized one of them to be from the school ... Lydia.  He liked the woman better than most humans, she, at least, seemed sincere in her love of the planets and living creatures, but she – like all the sky people – did not understand the connection his people held to this world. He watched as one of her group faced off with the thunderhooves, showing a reckless sort of courage. It was strange because most sky people relied on their weapons and feared everything that walked on the World.

The warrior's name was Dr'rek. He'd interacted with the sky people before learning that they could not be trusted ... that their hearts were often false or conflicted. Now he fired his arrows at the sky people's machines and ships with other warriors. He would be glad when they could force them from the world.

Today, however, he was intrigued and followed the path of the lone false one as he ran from the hunter's claws. He watched the battle to survive with some amazement. Like his brashness with the thunderhooves, the male was just as fearless with the hunter. He did not stop trying to live ... unusual for a human. Dr'rek had witnessed humans lose spirit when they thought they could not win. He had seen them stop fighting when to push just a little harder might have saved them. This one ... this one was unusual.

Of course, Dr'rek had learned that humans were strange beings in every way. He could not be distracted from his duty. Brave or otherwise, this one was no different than the rest of his kind. He would do what was required and rid the World of his borrowed body.

Eyes the color of the gold sunset looked up into the trees ... they did not see Dr'rek but he was caught by their strange beauty. He raised his arrow reluctantly. He suddenly found himself not wanting to close those eyes. And yet he could do nothing else ... he served his people, not the fleeting whims of his body. Aiming, Dr'rek made ready to release his shot when something else astounding happened on a day filled with astounding things.

A tiny wood-sprite flittered into his vision. Stunned into complete stillness, Dr'rek watched as it gracefully settled on his arrowhead. It paused for a moment, then was gone in the next breeze. He watched it disappear with wide eyes. The sky person was already gone farther into the forest ... Dr'rek moved to catch up, knowing the trail would be easy to follow. He glanced back at the wood-sprite. Why had it spared the false one?

 _I will wait your direction, Eywa,_ Dr'rek said in silent prayer. _Lead me to_ _this strange human_ _._


End file.
